1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a tennis ball retriever, and more particularly to a multi-purpose tennis ball hopper and caddy that holds all of the tennis equipment used during play and practice.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known to provide devices for carrying and/or picking up tennis balls. Such devices are widely used by instructors as well as by players. Examples of such devices are hoppers made of wire construction which are hand carried and lifted to a desired place on the tennis court. These hoppers carry as many as 30 to 100 balls and can be used to pick stray balls by positioning them over the balls and pressing the ball or balls against the wire construction. Another transport device is a cart that can hold twice as many balls and is pushed around the court. Alternatively, a ball retaining device may be worn by the player.
Various devices have in the past been developed as tennis ball retrievers. One such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,504 to Perez et al which discloses a container having a bottom wall with slotted apertures having thin parallel side edge members through which tennis balls can be squeezed. At least one edge member of each aperture includes a roller to reduce the frictional resistance to the entry of the ball through the aperture. A support is provided for supporting the container with the bottom wall spaced above the supporting surface to prevent wear on the bottom wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,948 to Slusarz discloses a tennis ball pack dispensing and retrieving apparatus while positioned on a player""s back and retrieving balls in another mode of operation upon removal from the back. U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,297 to Hanks discloses a tennis ball retriever comprising a tube having an inlet through which a ball may pass, and a set of arcuate arms pivotally mounted to the tube adjacent the inlet for movement between positions of greater and lesser proximity to the interior walls of the tube. The arms are spring biased towards their position of lesser proximity where stop means are located.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,820,836 to Seewagen et al discloses a tennis ball retriever device comprising a receptacle having an open top and a substantially open bottom for holding a plurality of tennis balls. An access arrangement normally in substantially horizontal planar position is provided in the bottom of the receptacle for admitting tennis balls into the receptacle and for preventing balls from falling out. The access arrangement comprises an access device yieldable under the pressure of a tennis ball in a direction into the receptacle to permit the entry of a tennis ball and instantly returnable to prevent the egress of a tennis ball from the receptacle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,697 to Verde discloses a tennis ball retrieving storage container having a pair of handles hingedly fixed thereto which may be folded to a downwardly extending position supporting the container on a playing surface. The retrieving device includes a plurality of parallel rods extending across the bottom of the container. When folded upwardly, the handles of the container enable an operator to both carry and retrieve balls from a playing surface without bending or stooping.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,804,449 to Falitz discloses a tennis ball retriever having a handle in the form of a yoke and a pair of second engaging rings interconnected by spaced bars, one of which is removable to provide for access of tennis balls picked up through the spaced bars after rolling the rings along the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,351 to Cuti discloses a tennis ball retriever and multi-purpose tennis ball hopper and caddy that holds all of the tennis equipment used during play and practice.
Conventional ball storage devices with handles provided on containers are limited to the single function of carrying the container around. It is generally desirable for the container to be adapted for retrieving the balls from the court surface without an undue amount of bending and stooping. While retrieving tennis balls containers are available, They possess certain inherent disadvantages which the present invention overcomes.
The present invention improves on the prior art by providing a multi-purpose tennis ball hopper, retriever and caddy contained within a convenient case which serves additional functions as a seat, a storage chamber, a secret container for valuables and is of molded construction. The present invention is cheaper and easier to manufacture and is more cosmetically appealing.
The present invention relates to an improved tennis ball retrieval and storage apparatus. In addition, the invention provides a multi-purpose tennis ball hopper, personal handy butler, (or caddy) that holds all of the tennis equipment used during play and practice. Some of the uses for the present invention include:
a small storage unit (including a secret compartment for valuables) designed as a holder for new and practice tennis balls and other related tennis play equipment, e.g., towel, sweat bands, etc.;
a convenient location for storage and attachment of soft bag containers suitable for personal items;
a lightweight practice serving caddy;
a tennis ball hopper that will pick up and hold up to 40 tennis balls;
a place to keep all of the tennis equipment handy together and organized during game play;
a space saver piece of sports equipment, that when the handle is retracted, will take up much less space than any other conventional tennis hoppers in use today;
a unisex and juniors product, designed for ease of use by men and women and juniors.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a tennis ball retriever that is light in weight and simple of construction, capable of being manufactured out of readily available materials and which is efficient in use.
These, together with the various ancillary objects and features of the invention which will become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by this tennis butler, a preferred embodiment of which has been shown in the accompanying drawings by way of example.